I can feel a new obsession coming on...

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Yep. I can feel it. A new money-costing obsession is coming over me.

Background: I was in Borders the other day, wandering around wondering what book I should buy and I suddenly remembered that for awhile now I had been wanting to buy Oliver Sacks' book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and so I went to one of their computers to look up the section of the bookstore in which it was in since for the life of me I couldn't remember Sacks' name.

Well, the computer said it was available in-store, but I couldn't quite find the medical section and so I asked a worker and she led me directly to it and began looking for the book even before I did. But we couldn't find it. Apparently it had been a bargain book and, alas, had finally been sent back to the storehouse. So they no longer had it. But...

They did have another book of his which I had ALSO forgotten I was wanting to get called An Anthropologist on Mars. So I bought it and took it home with me in giddiness.

Well, I happened to be at Borders again today, since my mother needed to return a magazine, and I went to the medical section again and saw that he had a biography of himself entitled Uncle Tungsten: Memoirs of a Chemical Boyhood and I got all excited and had to buy it of course because I started thinking about Oliver Sacks' character in the movie Awakenings (played by Robin Williams) which was based on his RL experience and the book by the same name which was the basis for the film (a book which incidentally I'll have to get, too ) because I really liked how his character was portrayed and found him (the movie version) highly intriguing and wondered if he was really like that IRL or not. So... I bought it.

And then I came home and had a lovely afternoon of reading An Anthropologist on Mars and I've already bookmarked all his books on Amazon.com-- not really with the intention of buying them on Amazon since I can likely get some of them cheaper elsewhere-- but just to have my list readily available.

So, I am beginning my OLIVER SACKS COLLECTION!! !


PS- Sacks has a section in An Anthropologist on Mars on Temple Grandin for any of you interested.

That's cool; I used to have an obsession with Gary Paulsen books (I still kind of do, but not as strong as when I was little). I read every book of his in my elementary school library in 3rd and/or 4th grade; I felt proud. I loooove his books, since they explain lots about the outdoors, since he's been in lots of the situations that he writes about in his books, which make them so awesome. His books aren't all written as survival books in the woods, but they are all still good.

I should read some of his books.
The movie awakenings really resonated with me, and strangely enough I identified with both characters almost equally.
Now in retrospect I can begin to see why.

I have a obsession Star Trek books and Astronomy books, just like star I guess.

I go through phases. I had almost everything by Grahan Greene and also Steven J Gould at one point, but due to circs beyond control, lost them. My current collection is of ex-collections.

Sophist , I was mad on reading Sack's books for a few years too, I think he's really great! That anthropologist on Mars is one of my all time favourite books.

Robina Williams was playing the guy who wrote "The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat?" OMFG!! !! !! !

I found Uncle Tungsten pretty daunting. I worked through it for a while, thinking oh, I'm sure he's going to change the subject on the NEXT page..., but nope. It's aaaaaall chemistry. Though I can't blame him for rambling, I guess.

Coolies, I have had an obsession pending for a LONG time, the early 90's trance boom. Don't really know where to begin though, even if there is plenty of material out there covering it. I guess you could say I'm waiting for something of good quality to read before it starts :p

Great!

That's another thing for you to focus on which you are passionate about.

Oh yes, and Oliver Sacks now has his own folder under BOOKMARKS.

I bean meaning to reed An Anthropologist on Mars for a while now *wanders off to call favourite second hand shop*

Obsessions are what make people with AS unique.

I think I have both.